Here’s what to expect following Biden’s executive order on cryptocurrency regulation

<p>President Joe Biden pleasantly surprised the cryptocurrency market by issuing a comprehensive (yet vague) executive order outlining how the government will oversee the burgeoning industry.</p> <p>So, what happens next?</p> <p>The United States Treasury is leading or participating in the majority of the studies, which range in length from 60 to 180 days on average. Now that the lines have been drawn, it remains to be seen how officials in Washington think and how that translates into crypto policy.</p> <p>One report that the agency is tasked with leading concerns the future of payments and money. The issue of a central banking digital currency is one that the administration is expected to investigate thoroughly (CBDC).</p> <p>The most pressing questions concern how a digital dollar will interact with stablecoins and other privately issued digital assets, how these relate to the strategic position of the US dollar in general, and the relationship between digital and fiat assets.</p> <p>According to senior administration officials, CBDCs will be investigated for use as real-time payments – or whether another option may exist. FedNow, the Fed's upcoming real-time payment system, will allow consumers and businesses to send payments instantly beginning in 2023 and could be a potential test case.</p> <p>Officials are considering what needs a CBDC will fill once FedNow is available and real-time payments through that system are more feasible.</p> <p>"You could see stablecoins develop more quickly and broadly if there is adequate disclosure, certification of claims, and an audit function," said Chris Giancarlo, former Commodities Futures Exchange Commission Chair.</p> <p>"One possible future is that retail payments are made through commercially operated stablecoins and wholesale payments are made through the FedNow payment system," said Giancarlo, who is also the co-founder of the Digital Dollar Project, which has investigated the relationship between societal values and CBDCs.</p> <p>As other countries, such